Stanford begin their defense of the Gary Duffin Cup in the second Northern California College Hurling Championship which begins on Saturday at Páirc na nGael, San Francisco.

This best of three series is expected to be quite different from last year. Both teams have been training hard and have made significant improvements in their skill levels, which should see a higher standard of play.

Stanford have lost several key players who have graduated from college and moved on, including their team founder John Mulrow (now playing for the Washington DC Gaels), and their recruitment effort has yet to replace all of them. On the other hand, Berkeley have been training in large numbers, much of it on the fields at Páirc na nGael. They have also retained the services of Limerick man Liam Reidy who is still on campus working on his PhD, and they have players such as Zach Streng, Joshua Roberts and Alan Sevier who hold North American Junior C hurling medals after having joined the SF Rovers in their first year of playing the sport.

Stanford still have Sam Svoboda and Dariusz Wodziak, plus the expertise of trainers Des Nolan and Brian O'Neill, formerly of St Joseph's Hurling Club, San Jose. They have also warmed up thanks to a challenge game played against the Rovers on Sunday.

Both teams have retained the same sponsors as last year. Berkeley are sponsored by Canning Electric, and Stanford are sponsored by Hard Rock Construction in Sunnyvale.

The throw-in for Saturday's game will be at 3pm. It will be preceded at 1pm by a challenge match between the SF Rovers and the new collegiate team that has recently started at UC Davis. This will be the first ever game for the Davis team who hope to compete in the Northern California Collegiate Championship in the 2010/2011 academic year. Tweet

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